Reinforced tubular pallet



Nov. 9, 1965 c. E. WHITTLE 3,

REINFORCED TUBULAR PALLET Filed Jan. 20, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG! FIGZFl G INVENTOR.

CHARLES E. WHITTLE A TTORNE Y Nov. 9, 1965 c. E. WHITTLE 3,215,535

REINFORCED TUBULAR PALLET Filed Jan. 20, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG? 4INVENTOR.

CHARLES E. WHITTLE ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,216,585 REINFORCEDTUBULAR PALLET Charles E. Whittle, 903 Monk St., Brunswick, Ga. FiledJan. 20, 1%4, Ser. No. 338,695 Claims. (Cl. 211-60) This inventionrelates broadly to pallets, and more particularly to an improvedreinforced pallet for handling heavy logs or pulpwood for the pulpwoodindustry.

The present invention is an improvement of the pallet structuredisclosed in my Patent No. 2,529,752, issued November 14, 1950, forMethod and Apparatus for Loading and Transporting Logs and OtherMaterials. In order to decrease operating costs and increase efficiencyof operation, it is the desire of the pulpwood industry to carry largerloads of pulpwood without materially increasing the weight and size ofthe equipment used to load and transport the pulpwood. In order toaccomplish this, the tendency in the trade has been to increase theheights of the upright standards of the pallet shown in mypreviously-mentioned patent, thus allowing more pulpwood to be loaded ineach pallet. Although no difficulties have as yet been encountered thegradual increase in loads, without increasing the weight and size of thematerial from which the pallet is constructed, is rendering the olderpallet designs unsuited for these increased loads.

The weakest point of a tubular pallet is normally at the curved portionsat the base of the U-shaped sections which make up the pallets. With thetendency to make the pallet standards higher for holding more pulpwood,and the reluctance to increase the weight of the tubular material fromwhich the standards and the curved portions are constructed, theincreased weight places more bending stress on the curved portions sothat these older pallets are presently carrying the maximum loads whichthey are structurally capable of handling. If the standards areconstructed any higher than the maximum heights presently being used,the older pallet structures will have a tendency to break at the lowercurved portions since the increase in load will stress the curvedportions beyond their structural strength.

Since the trend in the pulpwood industry of carrying progressivelylarger loads is continuing, and does not appear to be leveling off, itis imperative for the industry to have an improved pallet constructionof greater strength which is capable of carrying the heavier loadsrequired by the industry. It is therefore an object of the presentinvention to provide a construction of pulpwood pallet having greaterstructural strength than those presently used in the industry withoutincreasing the weight of the pallet.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction of tubularpallet having novel means for reinforcing the pallet at its weakestpoints.

A further object of the invention is to provide a reinforced pulpwoodpallet capable of handling increased loads which is simple inconstruction and economical to manufacture.

Other and further objects of the invention reside in the novel structurefor reinforcing the curved portion of the pallet to eliminate thetendency of the pallet to break at the curved portion under increasedloads, and will become apparent to those skilled in the art from thespecification hereinafter following, and with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the pallet structure of theinvention loaded with pulpwood;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the pallet structure of FIG. 1,with the pulpwood load being omitted;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view, partly in elevation, ofa fragmentary portion of the pallet structure, taken substantially alongline 3-3 of FIG. 1, with the pulpwood load omitted;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional'view of a fragmentary portion of thepallet structure, with the view being taken substantially along line 4-4of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged crosssectional view taken substantially along line55 of FIG. 4, and particularly showing the manner in which theload-supporting member is connected to the pallet tubular section;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view on a reduced scale of the preferred form ofthe tension reinforcing member of the pallet structure;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a modified form of the tensionreinforcing member of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of a fragmentary portion of the palletstructure, similar to FIG. 4, with parts omitted, showing the manner inwhich the modified form of tension reinforcing member of FIG. 7 isassembled on the pallet structure.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, the pallet structure of theinvention includes a pair of U-shaped end frames 1 and 2, with each ofthe U-shaped end frames formed of tubular material, such as, forexample, 3 /2" outside diameter pipe. Each end frame member includes apair of upright standards 3 joined to a horizontal bottom portion 4 bymeans of the curved portions 5 and is preferably die-formed from asingle piece of tubular material.

In the preferred form of the invention an angle member, having a tophorizontal flange portion 6 and a vertical wall portion 7 having its endextremities 8 and 9 tapered upwardly and terminating in top horizontalflange 6 at the ends thereof, is bent upwardly at each end by dieformingor the like to form a curved beam reinforcing member which is of shallowU-shape, as shown particularly in FIGS. 1, 4 and 6. Thus, thecross-section of the curved beam member gradually reduces at oppositeends of the curved beam. The top horizontal flange is preferablyapproximately the sarne width as the diameter of the tubular materialfrom which the U-shaped end frames 1 and 2 are formed, and is curved atthe vertical portions 10 and 11, at opposite ends thereof to conform tothe profile or surface curvature of the upstanding tubular standards 3.Thus the end portions 10 and 11 of the curved beam member are curved inthe vertical plane about axes parallel with the longitudinal axes of theupstanding standards 3.

A curved beam member thus formed is positioned between the upstandingstandards 3 of each of the U-shaped end frames, such that the verticalwall portion 7 thereof lies substantially tangent with the outsidediameter of the bottom portion 4 of the end frame, as shown particularlyin FIG. 5, with the bottom edge of the vertical wall portion 7 lying inabutment with the side of the bottom tubular portion and rigidly weldedthereto substantially throughout its length. The vertical portions 10and 11 of the curved beam member abut the surfaces of the uprightstandards 3 which are directed toward each other just above the endframe curved portions 5 and are secured thereto along only thevertically extending edges thereof by means of the vertical welds 12 and13. It is important to note that no horizontal weld is provided betweenthe upstanding standards 3 and the nd of the vertical portions 10 and 11of the cur ed beam member since this would tend to greatly weaken thestructure, and it has been found that greater strength is provided bythe pallet structure by providing only the two vertical welds 12 and 13in connecting the curved beam member to the vertical portions of thestandards 3. The bottom edge of the vertical wall portion '7 includingthe curved tapered vertical wall portions 8 and 9 are secured by weldingsubstantially throughout their length to the curved portions 5 andbottom horizonal portion 4 of the U- end of the pallet to the other.

shaped end frame member. It will be noted that this weld extendslongitudinally of the tubular member from which the end frame isconstructed, as opposed to extending transversely thereof.

The end frames 1 and 2 constructed in the manner described, and eachhaving a curved beam secured adjacent the top surface of the horizontalportion 4, are interconnected in spaced relation adjacent their bases inthe area of the curved portions 5 by means of tubular cross members 14and 15 which, as shown, in FIG. 5, are welded partly to the inner sidewalls of the U-shaped end frame at the curved portions 5 and partly tothe curved tapered vertical wall portions 8 and 9 of the curved beammembers. It will be noted that the vertical wall portions 7, 8 and 9 ofadjacent end frames 1 and 2 are positioned inwardly of the palletstructure to provide a connecting surface for the tubular cross members14 and 15, and the top flanges 6 of the curved beam members extendoutwardly of the pallet structure above the horizontal bottom portions4.

An apertured horizontally extending lug 17 is secured by welding or thelike to each of the tubular cross members 14 and 15 in positionsextending horizontally outwardly of the pallet structure, as shown inFIGS. 1 and 3. These apertured lugs are adapted to be engaged by thehook of a winch for pulling the loaded pallets on to the bed of atransportation body and also serve as holddown ties for securing thepallets to the transportation body, during transportation, as set forthin my previously mentioned Patent No. 2,529,752. The pallet structure iscompleted by means of reinforcing gusset plates 18 Welded between eachof the end frame members and the tubular cross members 14 and 15, toreinforce the cross members against the pulling stresses exerted on themby the winch cable through the apertured lugs 17 when the loaded palletsare pulled by the winch on to a transportation body.

The pallet structure thus formed constitutes an openframework andprovides a rigid support for the heavy load of logs, indicated generallyat 16, loaded transversely of the pallet on top of the curved beammembers. It will be noted that the curved beam members extend the entirelength of the pallet structure and that the fibers of these beams arecontinuous and uninterrupted from one By keeping the fibers of thesebeams continuous the resistance of the beams against bending stresses ismaintained.

The weight of the logs 16 loaded in the pallet which would normally beardirectly against the curved portions 5 of the pallet now bear againstthe top flanges 6 of the curved beam structures along the entire area ofthe curved portions 5 and since the angle member from which the curvedbeams are formed is relatively thin, the fibers of the beams aretensioned substantially throughout their lengths in the loadedcondition, and since the curved beams are supported at their ends to thevertical portions or upstanding standards 3 of the pallet, above thecurved portions 5, a majority of the reaction stress to the load occursin the vertical standards 3, thus relieving the curved portions 5 of theU-shaped end frames from the extreme bending stresses which wouldnormally cause breakage of these curved portions if the reinforcedcurved beam members were not present. As previously stated,

when the pallet is loaded the curved portions of top flanges 6, as wellas the remaining portion of these flanges, are subjected to tensilestresses when the pallet is loaded with logs, and the vertical wallportions 7, 8 and 9 connected rigidly between these top flanges and thecurved end frames 1 and 2 are subjected partly to tensile force butmainly to compressive forces. In any event, the manner in which thecurved beam angle members are connected to the U-shaped end framesproduces a pallet structure having a curved beam element at the basethereof which greatly reinforces the curved portions 5 of the .palletwhile, at the same time, sacrificing very little load space within thepallet between the upright standards 3. This latter provision of thepresent structure is very important to the industry, since thereinforced pallet structure does not in any way reduce the loading spacewithin the pallet.

In the pallet shown in my previously mentioned Patent No. 2,529,782, therails on the end frames, Which support the main weight of the logs, arejoined to the curved portions of the end frames along the curve, forexample, approximately 8 inches above the bottom of the end frame. Thus,in the old form of the pallet structure, the supporting rails join theend frames along the curved portions and below the mid-point of thecurved portions so that substantial weight from the logs bears directlyagainst the curved portions of the pallet. In contrast to this, in thenew form of the invention, as set forth in the present application, thecurved beam log supporting memers have their opposite ends 10 and 11connected to the upright standards 3 at points on the vertical portionof the standards just above the curved portions 5 by means of thevertical welds 12 and 13. By way of comparison with the older palletconstruction, the weld joints 12 and 13 are approximately 21 inchesabove the base of the pallet, thus indicating that the curved beamportions overlie the entire area of the end frame curved portions 5.

The minute sacrifice to the interior load space of the pallet isachieved by the fact that the curved beam members afford a graduallyreduced cross section at their end portions so that the assembled palletstructure also affords a gradually reduced section through the entirecurved portions of the pallet. Since the curved portions of the pallethave this feature of the gradually reduced cross section, very littleadditional interior load space of the pallet is occupied by this newconstruction than was occupied by the pallet construction shown in myprevious patent, and the gradually reduced cross section constructionhas been found to be greatly superior for the load bearing requirementsof larger pallet structures than that disclosed in my previouslymentioned patent. The new pallet structure is capable of bearingstandards as high as 84 inches and can easily carry loads as large astwo cords of pulpwood which would weigh approximately 11,000 pounds. Thepallets may be constructed in different lengths with the lengths mainlybeing governed by the transportation body on which the pallets areloaded. The widths of the pallets are normally governed by the lengthsin which the timber products are cut, and these of course usually do notexceed the maximum highway limits.

A modified construction of the curved beam member for constructing thepallet of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In this formof the invention the vertical wall portions are removed from oppositeends of a straight angle member leaving only the center vertical Wallportion 7 connected to the top flange portion 6. The ends Ill and 11' oftop flange portion 6' are then bent upwardly in the manner shown, in thesame configuration as the preferred form of the invention, and the ends10' and 11 are then curved in the opposite plane to conform to thecontour of the upright standards 3. The curved beam member is then placeon the U-shaped end frame and the opposite vertical edges of endportions 10' and 11 are welded at 13' to the upright standards 3. Thelower edge of vertical wall portion 7 is welded to the side wall ofhorizontal bottom portion 4, as shown in FIG. 8. A pair of arcuateplates 8 and 9 having an upwardly tapering reduced width are then Weldedin place between the curved beam member and the pallet end frame to formend wall extensions of vertical wall portion 7, that is, the innerarcuate edges of plates 8' and 9 are Welded to the inner edge of topflange 6, while the outer arcuate edges are welded to the curvedportions 5 of the end frame and the widest ends of the plates are weldedin abutment with the terminating ends of vertical wall portion 7 Thismodified construction has been found to perform just as efficiently asthe preferred form of the invention, although it does require additionalmanufacturing steps.

While the invention has been described in certain preferred embodimentsit is realized that modifications may be made without departing from thescope of the invention, and it is to be understood that no limitationsupon the invention are intended other than may be imposed by the scopeof the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is as follows:

1. A pallet for carrying logs and the like comprising, a pair of endframe members each having a pair of upright standards connected to abase portion by a pair of curved frame portions, an upwardly curvedmember connected to each end frame member in overlying relation to saidbase portion and curved frame portions and adapted to receive the loadcarried by said pallet directly thereon and thereby be tensionedthroughout its length to reinforce said end frame members, andtransverse members interconnecting said pair of end frame membersadjacent the bases thereof.

2. A pallet as set forth in claim 1 in which said upwardly curved memberis connected at opposite ends to said end frame member above said curvedframe portions.

3. A pallet as set forth in claim 2 in which the ends of said upwardlycurved member are connected to said end frame member by welds extendingonly in the vertical plane.

4. A pallet as set forth in claim 1 in which the connection of saidupwardly curved member and end frame member provides an upwardlyprogressing reduced crosssection at the curved frame portions.

5. A pallet as set forth in claim 1 in which said upwardly curved memberis U-shaped, and is connected substantially throughout its length tosaid end frame member.

6. A pallet as set forth in claim 1 in which said upwardly curved memberis angular in cross-section with opposite ends of the vertical wallthereof tapered upwardly.

7. A pallet comprising a pair of end frame membershaving a pair ofupstanding standards connected to a base portion by a pair of curvedportions, an upwardly curved member connected to each end frame memberand adapted to receive the load carried by said pallet, each of saidupwardly curved members having ends connected to said end frame memberabove the curved portions to thereby transfer stresses from the load tothe upstanding standards, and each of said upwardly curved membersconnected intermediate the ends to said base portion, and transversemembers interconnecting said pair of end frame members adjacent thebases thereof.

8. A pallet as set forth in claim 7 in which said transverse members areconnected partly to said end frame members and partly to the upwardlycurved members.

9. A pallet for carrying and transporting heavy loads comprising a pairof tubular end frame members of substantially U-shaped contour havingvertically extending tubular end portions and a substantiallyhorizontally extending base portion, a U-shaped beam extendinglongitudinal between the vertically extending end portions of each endframe member and connected at opposite ends to the lower ends of saidvertically extending end portions, a body portion connecting saidU-shaped beam intermediate the ends thereof in spaced relation abovesaid base portion of said end frame member, and transverse membersinterconnecting said pair of end frame members adjacent the basesthereof whereby the top surfaces of said U-shaped beams are operative toreceive the load carried by the pallet.

10. A pallet as set forth in claim 9 in which said body portioncomprises a generally rectangular vertical wall portion connectedbetween said horizontally extending base portion and said U-shaped beam,and a pair of arouate vertical wall portions connected on opposite sidesof said rectangular vertical wall portion between the curved portions ofsaid U-shaped end frame member and the curved portions of said U-shapedbeam for reinforcing the end frame member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 502,967 8/93Hetrick et a1 182-217 1,021,280 3/12 Ungar 182-140 2,529,752 11/50Whittle 2145 17 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

1. A PALLET FOR CARRYING LOGS AND THE LIKE COMPRISING, A PAIR OF ENDFRAME MEMBERS EACH HAVING A PAIR OF UPRIGHT STANDARDS CONNECTED TO ABASE PORTION BY A PAIR OF CURVED FRAME PORTIONS, AN UPWARDLY CURVEDMEMBER CONNECTED TO EACH END FRAME MEMBER IN OVERLYING RELATION TO SAIDBASE PORTION AND CURVED FRAME PORTIONS AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE LOADCARRIED BY SAID PALLET DIRECTLY THEREON AND THEREBY BE TENSIONEDTHROUGHOUT ITS LENGTH TO REINFORCE SAID END FRAME MEMBERS, ANDTRANSVERSE MEMBERS INTERCONNECTING SAID PAIR OF END FRAME MEMBERSADJACENT THE BASES THEREOF.